Skip to content
Home/ Vaccines: Mythology, Ideology, and Reality
Vaccines: Mythology, Ideology, and Reality

Vaccines: Mythology, Ideology, and Reality

by Leake, John
No customer reviews yet ISBN 9781648211898

The word "vaccine" derives from the Latin word for cow. The English physician, Edward Jenner, coined it in his 1798 pamphlet An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae. The last two Latin words mean "Smallpox of the Cow," or cowpox. Jenner postulated that cowpox causes mild disease in humans while protecting them from the more dangerous smallpox. His proposal for inoculation with a weak form of disease-causing matter to prevent serious illness became the central concept of infectious disease medicine and has remained so ever since. The word "vaccine" was subsequently applied to immunizations against all infectious diseases. Its etymology is amazingly apt, because vaccines are the ultimate sacred cow.

Vaccines: Mythology, Ideology, and Reality tells the story of this technology and the celebrated men who developed it with some success, but also with failures that are never mentioned in the celebratory literature on vaccines. Vaccine advocates often proclaim that they "follow the science," but most vaccine development has been a matter of guesses, gambles, and wild experimentation. Its key figures have been biased by religious faith, wishful thinking, ideology, and a desire for recognition and money.

Though credit is due to some vaccines for reducing infectious disease morbidity and mortality, their contribution to public health in developed nations has been grossly exaggerated by propagandists. Dramatic improvements in nutrition and sanitation were the primary drivers of this trend. The authors do not dismiss the concept of vaccination but seek to promote a more informed and less dogmatic discussion about its risks and benefits. Critical evaluation can only make the technology safer and more effective.

About the author

Product details

Pub dateJul 29, 2025
ISBN-101648211895
ISBN-139781648211898
LanguageEnglish
Last updated 2026-07-16 20:45
$23.17 $32.99 29% off
You save $9.82 · list price $32.99
In stock — ships in 24 hours with free tracking
Delivery by Monday, September 14, 2026
Qty
Sign in to Add to Saved list
Free delivery on orders over $35.
15-day returns. Any reason.
Secure checkout. We never store card details.

Readers who bought this also bought

More from Vaccinations
See all
Vaccines: What Everyone Needs to Know(r)
Feemster, Kristen A
$12.05
Vaccination Ethics and Policy
<b>A comprehensive overview of important and contested issues in vaccination ethics and policy by experts from history, science, policy, law, and ethics.</b><p>Vaccination has long been a familiar, highly effective form of medicine and a triumph of public health. Because vaccination is both an individual medical intervention and a central component of public health efforts, it raises a distinct set of legal and ethical issues--from debates over their risks and benefits to the use of government vaccination requirements--and makes vaccine policymaking uniquely challenging. This volume examines the full range of ethical and policy issues related to the development and use of vaccines in the United States and around the world. Forty essays, articles, and reports by experts in the field look at all aspects of the vaccine life cycle. After an overview of vaccine history, they consider research and development, regulation and safety, vaccination promotion and requirements, pandemics and bioterrorism, and the frontier of vaccination. </p><p>The texts cover such topics as vaccine safety controversies&#x3b; the ethics of vaccine trials&#x3b; vaccine injury compensation&#x3b; vaccine refusal and the risks of vaccine-preventable diseases&#x3b; equitable access to vaccines in emergencies&#x3b; lessons from the eradication of smallpox&#x3b; and possible future vaccines against cancer, malaria, and Ebola.</p><p>The volume intentionally includes texts that take opposing viewpoints, offering readers a range of arguments. The book will be an essential reference for professionals, scholars, and students.</p><p><b>Contributors</b><br>Jeffrey P. Baker, Seth Berkley, Luciana Borio, Arthur L. Caplan, R. Alta Charo, Dave A. Chokshi, James Colgrove, Katherine M. Cook, Louis Z. Cooper, Edward Cox, Douglas S. Diekema, Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Claudia I. Emerson, Geoffrey Evans, Ruth R. Faden, Chris Feudtner, David P. Fidler, Fiona Godlee, D. A. Henderson, Alan R. Hinman, Peter Hotez, Robert M. Jacobson, Aaron S. Kesselheim, Heidi J. Larson, Robert J. Levine, Donald W. Light, Adel Mahmoud, Edgar K. Marcuse, Howard Markel, Michelle M. Mello, Paul A. Offit, Saad B. Omer, Walter A. Orenstein, Gregory A. Poland, Lance E. Rodewald, Daniel A. Salmon, Anne Schuchat, Jason L. Schwartz, Peter A. Singer, Michael Specter, Alexandra Minna Stern, Jeremy Sugarman, Thomas R. Talbot, Robert Temple, Stephen P. Teret, Alan Wertheimer, Tadataka Yamada</p><br>A comprehensive overview of important and contested issues in vaccination ethics and policy by experts from history, science, policy, law, and ethics.<br>Jason L. Schwartz is Assistant Professor of Public Health (Health Policy) and in the History of Medicine at Yale University.<br>
$50.00
Vaccination Ethics and Policy: An Introduction with Readings
<b>A comprehensive overview of important and contested issues in vaccination ethics and policy by experts from history, science, policy, law, and ethics.</b> <p/>Vaccination has long been a familiar, highly effective form of medicine and a triumph of public health. Because vaccination is both an individual medical intervention and a central component of public health efforts, it raises a distinct set of legal and ethical issues--from debates over their risks and benefits to the use of government vaccination requirements--and makes vaccine policymaking uniquely challenging. This volume examines the full range of ethical and policy issues related to the development and use of vaccines in the United States and around the world. Forty essays, articles, and reports by experts in the field look at all aspects of the vaccine life cycle. After an overview of vaccine history, they consider research and development, regulation and safety, vaccination promotion and requirements, pandemics and bioterrorism, and the frontier of vaccination. <p/>The texts cover such topics as vaccine safety controversies&#x3b; the ethics of vaccine trials&#x3b; vaccine injury compensation&#x3b; vaccine refusal and the risks of vaccine-preventable diseases&#x3b; equitable access to vaccines in emergencies&#x3b; lessons from the eradication of smallpox&#x3b; and possible future vaccines against cancer, malaria, and Ebola. <p/>The volume intentionally includes texts that take opposing viewpoints, offering readers a range of arguments. The book will be an essential reference for professionals, scholars, and students. <p/><b>Contributors</b><br>Jeffrey P. Baker, Seth Berkley, Luciana Borio, Arthur L. Caplan, R. Alta Charo, Dave A. Chokshi, James Colgrove, Katherine M. Cook, Louis Z. Cooper, Edward Cox, Douglas S. Diekema, Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Claudia I. Emerson, Geoffrey Evans, Ruth R. Faden, Chris Feudtner, David P. Fidler, Fiona Godlee, D. A. Henderson, Alan R. Hinman, Peter Hotez, Robert M. Jacobson, Aaron S. Kesselheim, Heidi J. Larson, Robert J. Levine, Donald W. Light, Adel Mahmoud, Edgar K. Marcuse, Howard Markel, Michelle M. Mello, Paul A. Offit, Saad B. Omer, Walter A. Orenstein, Gregory A. Poland, Lance E. Rodewald, Daniel A. Salmon, Anne Schuchat, Jason L. Schwartz, Peter A. Singer, Michael Specter, Alexandra Minna Stern, Jeremy Sugarman, Thomas R. Talbot, Robert Temple, Stephen P. Teret, Alan Wertheimer, Tadataka Yamada
$46.50
Inducing Immunity?: Justifying Immunization Policies in Times of Vaccine Hesitancy
Pierik, Roland
$52.28
Informed Decision: The Truth About Clinical Trials in America
Hodges, Calethia T
$12.05
Raising a Vaccine Free Child second edition
Lydall, Wendy
$17.28